Illinois Sputters With Gill Missing

SEATTLE — So, you think Illinois' players are clones, all 6-foot-6 greyhounds who levitate at about 11 feet, play to the crowd and threaten to tear down rims with dunks?

Think again. Think about Kendall Gill.

Not that Gill can't jump, dunk and prompt fans to exchange high-fives. He can.

But if Gill was a clone, the Illini could survive without him, just as it did without Kenny Battle and Lowell Hamilton in an NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal victory over Louisville.

Without Gill, however, Illinois struggled.

On Jan. 22, the Illini defeated Georgia Tech in two overtimes to go 17-0 and assume the No. 1 spot in the national polls. But Gill broke a bone in his left foot during the game. With Gill sidelined, Illinois lost its next outing at Minnesota.

Gill missed 12 games, four of which Illinois lost. He returned for the final two games of the regular season, and Illinois was never better, routing Iowa by 24 points and Michigan by 16.

Bottom line: Illinois, which meets Michigan again tonight in the national semifinals at the Kingdome, is 8-4 without Gill, 23-0 with Gill.

"You take the alternator out of a Rolls Royce, and it won't run," Gill said. "You put it back, and the car runs. We're like a machine."

Told that the machine has run without other parts, Gill smiled, stumbled over a few words and waited for another question.

"We just can't get the production from that spot without Kendall," Illinois Coach Lou Henson said.

"Kendall is shooting over 45 percent from 3-point range, he's a great defensive player, and he's a very good penetrator and scorer," Illinois forward Kenny Battle said.

Gill, a 6-4 junior wing guard, is Illinois' third-leading scorer at 15.6. He shoots 54.1 percent from the field, 46.8 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. Before his injury, Gill led Illinois in scoring in conference games (20-point average) and led the Big Ten in steals with 2.8 a game.

Gill also teams with point guard Steve Bardo for an excellent defensive backcourt, which television analyst Dick Vitale called the finest in college basketball since Indiana's Quinn Buckner and Bobby Wilkerson in 1976.

"I saw a couple of their games, with and without Kendall," said Buckner, a radio analyst for the NCAA. "He and Steve are as good as any combination I saw all year, primarily because of Kendall's ability to guard people on the dribble, which allows Bardo to do what he does best, defend off the ball. ... He can slide inside and help with rebounding."

Illinois' 89-86 victory over Syracuse in the Midwest final illustrated Gill's worth. Not only did he have 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals (Gill has 14 steals in four tournament games), he also slowed Syracuse All-America point guard Sherman Douglas in the second half.

Gill did that, despite a gash inside his lower lip - courtesy of a Derrick Coleman elbow - that kept him swallowing blood for most of the game. Douglas scored five of his 15 points in the second half before fouling out.

Gill, meanwhile, had two outstanding games against the Wolverines. He scored 26 points in the first game, one shy of his season-high. In the regular season finale, his second game back after the foot injury, Gill scored 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting.